Current Projects

• Stroke 90:10 study

The Health Foundation, April-September 2011
We are carrying out research into the Stroke 90:10 improvement collaborative.  Hospitals in the North West of England signed up to a shared ambition to work together to improve stroke care and achieve a score of 90 or greater on the 2010 Stroke Sentinel Audit.
Further information about Stroke 90:10 is available here
For more information, please contact Sarah McNicol

• Risk Safety and Consent in Contemporary Blood Service in the United Kingdom

ESRC, January 2011 - June 2013

This  project aims to explore how people frame risk and safety in blood services in the UK. The project is funded by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council, and involves collaboration between Dr Helen Busby at the University of Leicester, Professor Julie Kent at the University of the West of England, and Dr Anne-Maree Farrell at the University of Manchester. The aims are to provide a sociologically informed analysis of public understandings, professional practice, public policy, and law in relation to risks in the supply of blood products in the UK.  The researchers will undertake innovative qualitative research about how patients, professionals, and regulators approach important questions about risk when thinking about treatments with blood products. 

For more information, please contact Helen Busby

• Investigate-I (INVasive Evaluation before Surgical Treatment for Incontinence Gives Added Therapeutic Effect?)

NIHR Health Technology Assessment, January 2011- December 2012
This is a study for a possible later randomised control trial assessing invasive urodynamic testing (IUT), compared to basic clinical assessment and non-invasive tests, in women potentially suitable for surgical treatment of stress (SUI) or stress predominant mixed urinary incontinence (MUI).  
For more information, please contact Natalie Armstrong

• DESMOND Ongoing

Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland CLAHRC, January 2011-June 2013
This project is evaluating the ongoing effective self-management of people with established T2DM (type 2 diabetes mellitus) within a primary care setting
Further information is available here  

For more information, please contact Helen Eborall (co-leading the qualitative sub-study with Margaret Stone)

• The Medium-Term Sustainability of Organisational Innovations in the NHS

NIHR-SDO, December 2010 - November 2011
This project looks at four new genetics services in the NHS, which have attempted to sustain and embed themselves in local NHS provision with ongoing funding and support following an initial pilot period.  The project seeks to build theoretically informed, generalisable knowledge about the facilitators and barriers in the sustaining and establishment of innovative approaches to service delivery and organisation in the medium-term period following initial introduction.
For more information, please contact Graham Martin

• High or Low Dose Syntocin (Oxytocin) for delay in labour (HOLDS)

NIHR Research for Patient Benefit, November 2010 - September 2011
This is a pilot study for a possible later randomised control trial which would compare standard and high dose oxytocin for women delayed in labour.
For more information, please contact Natalie Armstrong

• Responsiveness of Primary Care Services: Development of a Patient-Report Measure

NIHR, October 2010 - September 2013
For more information, please contact Emma Angell or Carolyn Tarrant

• ATTEND Study (Assessment of response rates and yields for Two Tools for Early detection of Non-diabetic hyperglycaemia and Diabetes)

Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland CLAHRC, September 2010-March 2012
This project is testing the feasibility and utility of two screening strategies for identifying people with undiagnosed diabetes, non-diabetic hyperglycaemia or at high risk of either of these conditions within a multi-ethnic UK population. It is also looking at the acceptability of the two strategies to patients and practitioners.
Further information is available here

For more information, please contact Helen Eborall

• DESMOND Foundation Study

Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland CLAHRC, July 2010-June 2012
This is a randomised controlled trial to test the effectiveness of the DESMOND Foundation Programme for people with established type 2 diabetes in a multi-ethnic population in Leicester and South Birmingham.
Further information is available here

For more information, please contact Helen Eborall (co-leading the qualitative sub-study with Margaret Stone)

• Evaluation of The Health Foundation's Closing The Gap Through Clinical Communities (CTGTCC)

The Health Foundation, July 2010 - June 2012

This is an ethnographic evaluation of a small number of CTGTCC awards in order to understand the role of collaborative, participatory, community-based approaches to quality improvement in healthcare, and to understand how to make such approaches work optimally.

Further information is available here 

For more information, please contact Georgia Herbert or Emmilie Aveling

• Social science research on Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland CLAHRC (Collaborative for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care)

National Institute for Health Research, March 2010-September 2013
We are carrying out research to help understand the way in which this CLAHRC has been put into practice and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of its approaches to closing the gap between evidence and practice.
Further information is available here

For more information, please contact Graham Martin

• PAETR - PAEDiatric Trail Recruitment: Perspectives of Families and Clinicians

NIHR, January 2010 - 31 December 2012
This project explores the needs and priorities of children and their families and how they can be best addressed when recruiting children to clinical trials.
For more information, please contact Clare Jackson

• High Quality Care for All: Evaluating Progress, Problems and Promise

NIHR-CCF via Aston University, January 2010 - June 2012
The aim of this project is to identify sustainable, long-term strategies for retaining a focus on patient quality of care and safety in the health service.
For more information, please contact Joel Minion or Piotr Ozieranski

• Harmonising tissue banks

MRC Studentship, 2010 - 2012
To identify and characterise organisational, social and professional facilitators and barriers to harmonising cancer tissue banks for research.

For more information, please contact Jessica Wright

• Lining Up: An Ethnographic Study of Matching Michigan: An Ethnographic Study of Efforts to Reduce Central Venous Catheter Blood Stream Infections (CVC-BSIs) in Intensive Care Units in England

The Health Foundation, November 2009 - December 2011

This research study uses an ethnographic approach to identify organisational features and settings that encourage or discourage good practices in reducing central venous catheter blood stream infections (CVC-BSIs) in intensive care units (ICUs). Findings will inform both quality improvements efforts and the implementation of the Matching Michigan programme in English hospitals.
Further information is available here

For more information, please contact Carolyn Tarrant or Mary Dixon-Woods

• Further Analysis of Cancer Trial Research Ethics Applications

National Research Ethics Service, February 2009 - June 2011

For more information, please contact Natalie Armstrong

• Evaluation of Intermediate Care Clinics for Diabetes

NIHR Service Delivery and Organisation, April 2006-September 2011
This project will evaluate the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of community based intermediate care clinics (ICC) in the management of type 2 diabetes.
Further information is available here 

For more information, please contact Natalie Armstrong

• DESMOND Quality Development Study

Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland CLAHRC,
An assessment of the current DESMOND Quality Development tools for validity and reliability, and to develop improved tools.
Further information is available here 

For more information, please contact Helen Eborall

• DESMOND Self Monitoring Blood Glucose (SMBG)

This project asks whether self-monitoring of blood glucose, as opposed to urinalysis, provide additional benefit to newly diagnosed individuals with type 2 diabetes receiving structured education.

For more information, please contact Helen Eborall

• MY-WAIST Study

This is a project to develop and test the feasibility, acceptability and utility of a simple self-assessment screening strategy (based on waist circumference measurement) for identifying people with type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes and cardiovascular risk.  The strategy will be applicable to an ethnically diverse population.

For more information, please contact Helen Eborall

• PRISM Evaluation

The evaluation of two pharmacy based stepwise methods of screening for type 2 diabetes.
For more information, please contact Helen Eborall

• VOICE 1 & VOICE 2

This project will explore the views of an ethnically diverse group of patients about insulin treatment for type 1 diabetes (VOICE 1) and type 2 diabetes (VOICE2).
For more information, please contact Helen Eborall

Previous Projects

Trust, confidence and the regulation of risk: examining the Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care. Economic and Social Research Council 2007-2008 Dixon-Woods M, Bryman A, Ashcroft R.

Review of regulation of medical research. Medical Research Council. 2006-2007 Dixon-Woods M, Ashcroft R, Brownsword A, Bryman A, Yeung K.

Analysis of Research Ethics Committees’ letters about cancer trials and human tissue. 2007-2008 Dixon-Woods M, Ashcroft R, Bryman A, Angell E. Central Office for Research Ethics Committees.

Qualitative analysis of Research Ethics Committees’ letters and accreditation reports. Central Office for Research Ethics 2006 Dixon-Woods M, Ashcroft R, Angell E. Committees.

Consistency of Research Ethics Committee decision-making. 2006 East Midlands Innovation Hub. Dixon-Woods M.

Qualitative evaluation of Health Foundation Safer Patients Initiative. 2005-2008 Dixon-Woods M, Lilford RJ. Health Foundation via University of Birmingham 

Childhood cancer tissue donations: a gift relationship? 2004-2007 Dixon-Woods M, Seale C, Young B, Pritchard-Jones K, McHale J, Tobin M, Heney D, Forster J, Habiba M. Economic and Social Research Council.

Issues surrounding patient information leaflets for cancer Research. 2004-2007. The Trent Research and Development Unit

Qualitative study of the DESMOND randomised controlled trial. 2004-2005 Dixon-Woods M, Shaw R. DESMOND Trial Collaboration.

Access to healthcare by vulnerable groups: a meta-ethnographic literature review. 2002-2003 Dixon-Woods M, Annandale E, Arthur A, Harvey J, Hsu R, Katbamna S, Olsen R, Riley R, Smith S. Funded by the NHS Service Delivery and Organisation Programme.

Collins R, Atkinson M, Landray M, Burton P, Williams B, Cobbe S, Darlington J, Elliott P, Ford I, Majeed A, Dixon-Woods M, Newton J, Parker M, Pell J, Rodden T, Sinnott R. Virtual organisations for trials and epidemiological studies: using e-science for efficient recruitment, data collection, and management  in large-scale randomised trials and observational studies. Medical Research Council 2005-2009

Development of an educational intervention for amblyopia treatment. Gottlob I, Harrad RA, Dixon-Woods M, Collier J, Proudlock F. National Eye Research Centre. 2004-2005

Quality of life and childhood disability. Young B, Parkinson K, Clover A, Dixon-Woods M. ESRC  2004-2006

Cross Research Council Networks in Patient Safety. Lilford R, Dixon-Woods M et al. MRC/ESRC/EPSRC 2003-2004

Informed consent: ascertaining patients’ requirements, and comparing methods of delivery. Habiba M, Dixon-Woods M, Akkad A, Kenyon S.  NHS Executive Trent (2001-2003)

Meta-analysis of qualitative and quantitative research. Jones DR, Abrams K, Dixon-Woods M, Fitzpatrick R. ESRC 1997-2000